


War Memoirs

by VanToRia



Category: Elsword (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Get comfortable because this is long, Imagine a fic made a one-shot, KoG needs to give more lore to Lurensia, Low-key came up with this because of an RP, NPCs Deserve Love too, No beta we die like Seris
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:01:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22842931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VanToRia/pseuds/VanToRia
Summary: Vanessa had always thought she needed to be in the military, that Velder would not know peace during her lifetime. From the rebellion, the inner fighting between the Cronwells and the Felfords and the demon invasion, there was no time to ponder if her life would ever go beyond combat. Yet, what gave meaning to her most important years of service was not her duty to the Kingdom. It was a person.And that same person would be the same who gave her hope after it was all over.
Relationships: Vanessa/Lento
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	War Memoirs

**Author's Note:**

> It's a strange ship, isn't it? Truthfully, I didn't write this just to be different. In fact, what inspired me to write this was a long brainstorming for my next fic, Secret Pact. So, take this as both an introduction and a happy ending to that future project. Now, with all of that out of the way, sit back and enjoy this long ride.

_Velder capital - 1 year before the demon invasion_

Vanessa Lang could only hear the muffled echo of her boots over the corridor that led to the Royal Library with a bag of archived military reports over her shoulder. Her blue hair swayed in a ponytail over her back, her sharp gaze matched the colour of her hair and the uniform of the Centurion Guard. She was a silhouette of greys and blues striding with determination over the red-carpeted grey stone floors of the palace, with their beige walls, crystal chandeliers and giant windows from where the moonlight poured its blood inside the Royal Court. The Royal Court was empty and yet anyone could have felt it was only the calm before another storm. While the Felfords had gotten most of the Centurion Guard under their control, the embers of anger among some units after Raven Cronwell's sentence could still be felt all around.

And if she, a captain of second rank in the military, could clearly see that the Felfords were the ones pulling the strings to empty the positions of their enemies, it was all the more obvious to everyone else. The Library was in front of her, its heavy wooden entrance closed, unwelcoming as a wall to any newcomer. She slowly pushed the door and, as it softly clicked open, a strange conversation made her steps come to a halt.

"Sir, with all due respect, I think this decision is rather rash for someone in your position, I can't-"

"Lieutenant Asini, you're the most capable of my men. I trust you."

Asini. That last name rang a bell. Vanessa frowned, looking up as she tried to remember when she had heard that name. Then, she remembered. Lento Asini was that raven-haired guy who was as solitary as she was and was as zealous as she was when they were new recruits for the centurion guard. They sometimes worked together. As for the other voice, it was a man's, but she could not quite tell who it was.

"Noel," A woman's voice chimed in, echoing through the library, "There's someone at the door."

"What?"

"Show yourself," the woman barked, "there's already enough rats for anyone to send someone as bad you are to spy on us."

Vanessa straightened up and carefully entered the library. The woman who had spoken was Stella Arrerio, a stern war counsellor under the defeated Cronwell family. Her rust gaze was predatory, looking straight towards her and maybe even her soul. Next to her was a white-haired commander -judging by the armband on his right arm- who wielded two swords over his back. His green gaze was puzzled to see her and the same could be said for Lento Asini. The young man was two years her junior and barely taller than her. His hair was rebellious but cut short, combed as much as possible so his sight was always clear, unlike the two other people next to him, whose bangs and loosened hair could have very well been a liability in combat had they not been stellar fighters.

Vanessa saluted them, "Second-rank captain Vanessa Lang, sir, ma'am. My apologies for my behaviour."

Stella rolled her eyes and put a hand briefly over the green-eyed commander's shoulder as she walked out, "You made the right call, Noel. I'll see you around if the El wills it."

With one last glare at her, Stella Arrerio left, banging the door behind her.

Vanessa was not sure what she should do, neither of the people left seemed to care to just seeing her stand like a statue saluting and she did not dare to cross the corridor and interrupt their conversation.

Noel took a deep breath, scratching the back of his head before looking at Lento again, "Lieutenant, this is my last order for you. I must count on you."

The nineteen-year-old lieutenant nodded and saluted his superior, "Yes, sir." Commander Noel smirked and gave his subordinate a good pat on the back, "It's not going to be an easy task, but I know you can do it."

Finally, Noel turned his attention back to her, "Oh, you're still here? At ease."

Vanessa slowly relaxed, but she was still startled by the whole situation. She should have waited until they had left. Then again, her superior wanted her to archive those reports back in the library as soon as possible. Noel left with a leisurely pace from the gigantic library and its dozen of heavy wooden tables, the chandeliers that subdued light into gentle yellow hues and the hundreds of shelves that rose as tall as two-story buildings. Once the door closed once again behind her, Vanessa took finally her first steps into the library, nodding politely at Lento, who nodded back as he sat in front of the table behind the shelf where she needed to put the reports she carried. She saw him hold his head with both of his hands, looking down to the polished surface of the table as if he were to find the answer to his troubles in his tenuous reflection. It was not often Lento seemed to be overwhelmed by anything and, considering the few times he had helped her before, Vanessa figured she could return the favour.

As she went looking for a ladder to reach the place where she needed to put the last two books of records, she glanced at Lento. "Do you want me to help you, Asini?"

"Hm?"

Vanessa methodically searched for the right space for the two books and, once she found it, pulled the ladder where she needed it and began to climb it as she reworded her question, "If your superior put you a hard task, I think I could help. I'm already part of the captains."

"Hmm...I can take you up on that offer, Lang," he said as she put the last two books and began to climb down.

"What is it?" she asked, combing locks of her hair that fell over her temples behind her ear.

She turned towards him and sat down in front of him. Lento looked to the side, his hands clasped together in front of him. He sighed and looked at her. "He...basically gave me his position. On one hand, it's like a dream come true, but I don't think I can suddenly deal with nine hundred men under my orders and a whole region to go with it." Vanessa's eyes widened, she barely got her promotion to second-rank captain a week ago and Lento was now miles above her,

"Wow. First of all, congrats. What rank is Sir Noel?"

"Count Noel Savilant was the Field General of Feita."

"Field General?! That's...that's…."

That was much more than an extraordinary promotion. It was as miraculous as he Cronwells adopting an orphan and make him the heir. However, Raven Cronwell's miracle had ended in tragedy. Vanessa covered her mouth, not sure if she could give any sound advice anymore. The responsibilities of a Field General had to go far beyond what she, during the two weeks she had been captain, could ever hope to have.

Lento grabbed his head in defeat again, "It's insane. But I can't disobey an order from someone that up high. That's just playing with fire nowadays."

She knew he was completely right. Ever since the Felfords had been cleaning up the military and some of their rivals at the court, any minor sign of treason was heavily punished. Even if it was only a rumour. While Vanessa had only briefly met Raven Cronwell, she knew for sure she did not wish to see another hard-working soldier meet his fate. And certainly not one she had trained often with and almost progressed at the same speed through the ranks of the military with, although they were in different divisions.

"I have been training new recruits recently, Asini. That's part of the duties of people above the lieutenant rank. It may not be much, but I can pass you my notes on routines for new archers, spearmen and cavalry."

Lento looked at her, his black eyes shining faintly with a small thankful smile, "Anything helps, Lang. Thank you."

"It's no problem, Asini."

He stayed in the library, briefly waving at her as she had to leave and rest for the morning training that awaited her increasingly frequently. He told him he would depart in the afternoon the following day. Because Vanessa would have no time to leave her notes to him in person, she went first thing in the morning to leave her books and notes on military drills to Cobo mail so he would get them. And that was the first step both zealous soldiers took to remain close even if the distance between them grew.

* * *

It had been close to two months since she had, every morning, been in charge of training the newest recruits, most of which were still in their early teens. The young man in front of him had been goggling at her more than he had paid attention to the lecture on dodging and counter-attacks. He clumsily thrust his wooden spear to lift the long skirt of her uniform, but she had already seen right through it. With a frown, she lowered her stance, pivoting with ease out of the reach of his attack, her own spear gliding over his, using only a bit of her strength to make him dig his weapon on the hardened soil of the training grounds. Then, she swung her weapon, the wind whistling on its path. The young man dropped his weapon and covered his face with his arms, looking away to parry the hit. Yet, Vanessa's strike stopped an inch away from his forearms.

"Let this be your lesson," she hollered to the rest of the students who watched the spar, "you need to master your footwork better than your attacks. Your strikes may be the strongest, but if you are as mobile as a tree in combat, you won't last long."

The young man lowered his hands, his eyes still fearful. Vanessa looked at him sternly, "Good footwork will make your strikes flow easily between defence and offence." She turned towards the group again and clapped her hands once, "Everyone will practice the Blade Dance for the next hour. You're free to duel me and show me you don't need any more hours of training. The first one of you failed, but I'm open to see another one try. Remember, if the second duelist fails, It's going to be two hours of Blade Dance for everyone and so on. Is there anyone willing to try and prove to me that you've all mastered your footwork?"

The teens shook their heads almost in unison. Vanessa nodded, "Alright. Then, get those stances going, gentlemen."

"Roger that, ma'am," the young recruits replied, grabbing other training spears and tying small sand weights around their ankles as the Blade Dance demanded.

Once they were ready, they spread in rows practicing different stances one after the other, leaping a little in between each stance and pivoting ninety degrees after they were done with fifteen repetitions. Vanessa was busy with training until two hours past the mid-day. From then on, she had reports to file as well as other paperwork concerning different expenses of her division to Owen Felford, the only counsellor the king had kept to his side. The white-haired noble was as difficult to understand as a dormant snake and just as dangerous. It was no exaggeration to see him as the real authority of Velder ever since he won his war against the Cronwells. Vanessa was simply glad most of her interactions with the man were the messages his secretary, Luriel, left for her and her captain. Speaking to him in person always made her tense, even if, by all means, Owen Felford looked and acted like a gentleman. Usually, Vanessa would have left earlier to see Luriel and give her the reports, but she had to don her full-plate armour and do a quick round of the walls around the fortified royal citadel near the Hope Bridge. It had taken her much longer than usual, but she did not wish to risk her neck by refusing a request from her captain.

Not only did that left her even less time for her plans for the already dying afternoon, but she would not even have time to enjoy a casual chat with Luriel. As much as she refrained to admit it in the army, Vanessa treasured the small talk she could only have with women like Luriel: women who had not chosen the path of the warrior. The bells of the cathedral rang six hours past the mid-day and Vanessa had to run to reach Luriel's office and make it home in time. She banged at the door much more heavily than what she intended, making a shivering Luriel cautiously open the door.

"Oh," the blonde secretary sighed in relief, "Th-thank the El it's just you, Vanessa. I was wondering if-"

"I'm sorry, Luriel," the blue-haired woman excused herself as she handed out the required reports to her, almost accidentally shoving them, "I'm in a real hurry, so please just take these. We'll catch up later."

"O-oh, okay," the blonde muttered, her blue gaze lowered to her feet as she took the reports in her hand.

Vanessa did not even notice that Luriel wished her a good evening while she was already sprinting away to her home in the luxurious neighborhoods near the royal palace. As she sprinted through the boulevards, a small figure stopped in the middle of the road, crouching to catch something, unaware of the sound of hoofs coming her way. Vanessa turned around, her eyes widened at the sight of a small girl proud to catch a ball made of rags only seconds away from crashing into the hurried pace of a carriage pulled by two strong black stallions. She pivoted to her right, where the girl was and had just enough momentum to catch her and leap with her to the other end of the street, where they were met with the quiet awe of those who had seen the military woman come to the rescue. Vanessa let the girl go and got up, ready to just remind her to be more careful -like any adult would- but the young girl simply nodded and left as fast as her short legs could take her with her toy.

Vanessa swallowed her words and sighed, looking up to the clock tower three blocks to her right and her eyes widened at the hour. It was almost seven hours past midday. She would have to rush more than usual, but all her running with her full-plate steel armour had left her without any stamina to continue her frenzied dash. She took a deep breath and walked the rest of her way home, hoping that she could have some time to be more than just the stern lieutenant everyone in the Centurion Guard knew. By the time she made it home, the maids quickly rushed her to the bath and told her she had no more than ten minutes if she wished to get the attention of Owen Felford. The rose-scented bath they had prepared for her was lukewarm, not hot enough to truly relax her sore muscles, but it would have to do.

This was all because she ran late. She scrubbed the grease from her long hair as best as she could with the time she had. The problem was not so much getting clean, but getting dressed and combed for the ball. Although not many saw the Felfords in a good light, there was really no best family to get married to in this day and age. And her family was more than willing to show their true loyalty to the new top dogs. Vanessa got out of the tub, reaching out for a dry cotton cloth to cover her nudity, thinking that even if it were to become a political engagement, it was still a world where she could be more feminine again. She had undeniably the looks for it, she knew, and yet so many other things got in the way when she tried to express that even a soldier like her could have the heart of a woman. Vanessa let the maids put on her corset, comb her hair into an elegant bun held by a crown of fake, yet almost real vine lilies. Once Looking at herself in the mirror, Vanessa could not help but smile.

Her dark dress highlighted her long sky-blue hair and sea-blue eyes. Everything was completed by the silver jewelry on her earlobes and around her neck. How long had it been since she had dressed up like this? Far too long, she thought to herself, so long she had forgotten how silk felt so delicate on her skin compared to the rough wool of the military uniforms. Just as the baroness Vanessa Lang was about to make her way out into the night and dance in the ball, her mother called for her to the living room. Vanessa's smile vanished, her eyes setting first on the grandfather clock that welcomed her as she pushed the doors of the living room open. It was nine hours and thirty minutes past the midday. Even with the fastest stallions, the doors of the palace would be closed by the time she got there. Defeated, she lowered her head, dragging herself to the velvet-covered chair in front of the one her mother was sitting on. Seconds ticked by, the fireplace between them lit weakly the room, crackling softly as it warmed both of the women's faces with its orange light.

"You know, Vanessa," her mother began, her wrinkled hands calmly clasping each other and her blue eyes, so similar to hers, looked at her with patient wisdom, "I supported your decision to join the military as something you could use to strengthen the weak constitution you were born with. But time is passing by, year by year..."

Vanessa's mother turned to the left and just as calmly ordered tea for both of them to a butler silently standing in the shadows, only two steps left to the door Vanessa had entered through. The young woman could not lift her gaze, knowing already what her mother would say to her. And yet, she was not going to fight her because her words were almost always just. Even if they were harsh, mothers had to tell the right words to their children.

"Please, look at me."

Vanessa swallowed, her saliva was cold, so much so she feared it would turn to ice in her throat. Slowly, yet dignified, her head raised to face the greying blue hair and wise blue eyes of her mother. Her slim lips curled in a smile, her eyes not cold like her daughter's but warming up to an understanding worry. The kind any mother would have if they saw their children face to face with regret, trying as best they could to show them the dilemma they were facing.

"You've grown into such a beautiful woman, Vanessa. You're turning twenty-two this year and, if you keep your mind so tied up to the army, your heart is going to suffer. There's no greater sadness than to be completely alone, you know? Your brothers died too young, your father and I will soon have our turn and if you don't have a family, who's going to be there for you when you find yourself at the dusk of life?"

"There's going to be another ball next year," she mumbled, "I...can make it next time. Promised."

"This is the third year the same thing has happened, my child. I want to trust you, but answer me this seriously: do you want to devote yourself to this kingdom the same way priestesses devote themselves to the El? Is that how you think you'll be happy?"

She did not have the answer at that moment, she could only turn to the flames, looking uselessly for an answer in each crackle, how the flames reached up.

"If it isn't making you happy, Vanessa, why don't you quit? Owen Felford tired of waiting for you, but it's not too late for you to live a freer love if you wish to."

Vanessa clenched her fists, her mind entranced by the sting of the flame's heat as she spoke again, "Even if I'm a beautiful woman, mother, there's not much more I can offer to a man. Much less to a family. The Centurion Guard is...well, it is the only thing I've had for a long time."

"Do you want it to stay that way?"

"I don't know. But I don't think I can change, so I might just as well devote myself to what I have," she turned to look at her mother and shrugged, "It's better than having no one and nothing."

The butler set their tea on the table, but the perfumed smells called to a fantasy of nobility she had just turned her back to. Vanessa got up under the saddened stare of her mother and went back to her chambers, ordering her maids to undress her from her princess-like attire. Once she was only with her simplest undergarments, Vanessa dismissed them all. Her uniform was still perfectly folded over her bed. She took it and got dressed on her own, wearing the familiar sweat-scented rough clothing that her full-plate was supposed to cover again. Once armoured, she looked very different. Her long hair was no longer combed beautifully, only held plainly by a high ponytail. It was the only way she knew how to comb herself on her own. Her curves were completely hidden and, once she put her helmet on, she would look no different than any other male soldier. Perhaps only different because of her height, but there were recruits around her height, like Lento Asini.

They had kept in touch with the crystal orbs in the communication centres of their respective bases after he left for Feita. Come to think of it, today was also the day she was supposed to show him some other ropes of war tactics and the accounting tasks he would have to deal with from now on. She had forgotten it with the ball, but that was all behind her. Vanessa took her stallion from the stables and rode until the headquarters of the Centurion Guard, where one of her lieutenants informed her she had an incoming transmission waiting for her from Feita. This was her world now. She had decided to bask in it or try at least to drown in it just enough to forget that she did not know if the path she had chosen for herself was the right one. Maybe once she cut her hair, she would forget she loved to simply be a noblewoman sometimes.

* * *

The night had fallen long ago under the cold forests of Feita. Lento could not have imagined just how cold his native land had gotten.

Well, truth be told, he barely even remembered what Feita had looked like, how cold it had been before. Ever since his family had become an ally to the Felfords, he had lived in the temperate valleys of Velder, only looking to the mountainous forests of his childhood from afar. He sat down on a cramped office, his desk overflowing with waves of reports and other paperwork he barely knew how to deal with. But this was not as hard as dealing with the local knights. Most of them came from families loyal to the Cronwells and saw the Asini household as traitors. There was possibly no worse situation he could be in at this very moment. Fatigue clung onto his mind like death clings onto the moribund, the few herbal teas he had drunk did little to keep him awake at this hour and his duties? They piled up way faster than what he could reasonably do on his own. Lento knew he should ask for help, but he feared that his subordinates would sabotage him and draw the Felfords' wrath onto him as a potential traitor. Lento took a deep breath, which soon evolved into a yawn as he passed his hands over his face as if to swipe his sleepiness away.

There was a small orb for communications at the corner of the room and it had still not lit up. Perhaps Vanessa was as busy as he was today. He stretched his arms and looked to his right, where a small window filtered glimpses of the moonlight into the wardrobe he had been given for an office. A shooting star crossed the sky, taking him back to the years before he had been separated from his older brother, Reijak. If he had believed him back then, not only would he be less lonely, but perhaps he would not even have to worry about being catapulted into a rank he was not ready for. At this point, Lento thought sometimes that it would not be long before he demolished his health and died young and bedridden like his grandfather. And unlike him, Lento would face death alone and in a land he did not think as his home. That was the realization that made him push his thoughts into the back of his mind, telling himself he should at least glance over the twenty-page inventory report instead of thinking about what he had already given up on and the worst-case scenario. He had to stay positive to continue to improve. As he read through the exhaustive inventory of weaponry and armour in Feita, he caught a soft blue glow to his left in the corner of his eye.

The youngest Field General dropped the papers in his hands and rushed to free the incoming runic spell that was flowing from the orb. If was thanks to the El in the region that mages could forge a network of mana connections between specific areas, where the El energy flowed the strongest. Vanessa's face soon appeared inside the crystal orb, uncovered from a steel helmet that resembled a drake's head.

Her eyes widened a little as she saw him, "Asini, you're truly working yourself to death. You can't deny it any longer."

Lento scoffed, "I can, but it's a shame the fake it 'til you make it spell doesn't work in Feita."

Vanessa did not even feign a smile, her look only growing more stern.

He put his hands in the air, closing his eyes, "Alright, I get it. It's a terrible joke. Sorry."

The blue-haired woman sighed, "Overworking yourself won't get you as far as it did when you were a lieutenant. You have to delegate tasks to others. You have a thousand men, surely-"

Lento opened his eyes, his hands dropping to rest over the end of the armrests of his hair, "Did you know that, out of all the noble households in Feita, only the Asinis chose to be allies to the Crown during the Civil War and strengthened their alliance with the Felfords during the political war between them and the Cronwells, Lang?"

She raised an eyebrow at him, studying his words and, when silence fell again between them, Vanessa's gaze showed a glimmer of worry. "Why would Count Noel Savilant even think of putting you there, then? It's irresponsible."

That was the question that he had asked himself again and again after Noel had left with Stella Arrerio almost three months ago. Yet, Vanessa Lang did not get frozen with unanswerable questions for long. Instead, she was already focusing on a solution. Then, her eyes brightened with an idea, Lento could see it even now.

"How about this, Asini?", she began, her hands gesturing the sudden idea that had formed in her mind, "If the nobles in the military are not your best allies, why not reach for the bourgeoisie? Merchants got no unwavering loyalty, whether it's for their business or in war."

Of course, he thought, his onyx gaze lighting up with her idea. If he had gotten more rest, surely he would have thought about it. "By the El, Lang, I'm ashamed to say that even after all this time, I never even thought of that", he chuckled, "It's so obvious. And to think that I was the one who had the better grades for military tactics back when we were new recruits."

She had a brief smile, "Back then, even if you were numero uno, I bet you slept more than you do today. Sleep deprivation dulls anyone's mind, Asini. Are the teas helping you stay awake?"

Lento covered a yawn with his right hand, "Less and less. I think they're starting to have the opposite effect, in all honesty. But that, ironically, keeps me awake. I don't want to imagine what would happen if I passed out one of these days."

"Are your men that dangerous? Have they threatened you?"

He had not found out yet just how much he had to worry for threats or worse coming from his subordinates, but that was not really the point. So far, they had only given him the cold shoulder, but he had a gut feeling about their reticent attitude towards his orders.

"No, I don't think they'd do that, but the only way I have right now to get a bit of their respect is showing that I'm trying to do my best. Even if I'm not at all the kind of leader Noel was. I got to step up or...well," he sighed, rubbing his burning eyes as a migraine carved its way through his focus and all the filters that hid a lot of his past struggles, "I might just end up like my brother. And that'd be the end of the very reason I decided to be part of the Centurion Guard."

Vanessa did not have anything to fill that chilly silence that he had created. He did not realize that, even seven years later, the mention of Reijak Asini would still cause the same effect on anyone who was born noble and was old enough to remember. It was a cross he would have to carry and so would the rest of the Asini lineage until the King of the Felfords decided to pardon Reijak's actions posthumously. Lento thought of saying goodbye, it was two hours later into the night in Velder.

"Why are you in the army, Asini?"

Lento furrowed his eyebrows, "Well, the same reasons other nobles have. It's the same for every man when they turn fourteen."

"And, five years later, nothing changed?"

"Well, not exactly. It just became everything in my day-to-day life. I grew up admiring my brother, so," Lento had a joyless chuckle, "can't say I have anything I truly enjoy beyond this life."

Vanessa raised an eyebrow, "Is that really so? My duties do not include talking with you at this hour. Is it part of your duties to dutifully talk to someone four ranks below you?"

"Well, strictly speaking, no."

When he saw Vanessa furrowed her eyebrows, he realized what she was getting at and quickly clarified his words, "B-but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy these talks. You're more or less the only person I've considered a friend for the past month. I'm really thankful for these… less formal conversations in my routine. Truly."

Vanessa's expression lightened with a smile, "I didn't think you also saw me as a friend. Would it be strange if we called each other by our first names? I've...not really had male friends, so maybe-"

"No, no, no. It's cool. It's alright...Vanessa."

"Glad to hear it, Lento." Their gazes met and turned away from one another, both laughing at their awkwardness.

"By the El, even at twenty-one, I'm still this awkward. I'm sorry."

"It's ok, I don't mind it at all. But it's very late for you, isn't it?"

Vanessa's gaze looked upwards and her eyes widened, "By the El! It is. Goodnight, Asi...Lento."

"Goodnight."

Vanessa's image faded out and the magic inside the orb dispersed in the air around it. Lento still had a small smile on his lips. Now that he thought about it, even if they had often talked together before, it was the first time he had broken out of his stoic politeness with anyone in the army. It was a breath of fresh air, all things considered. A far better stress treatment than any medicine.

* * *

Lento had secretly brought the communication orb with him to the march he led to stop the demons' conquest of all of Feita's most sacred places. Of course, out of its usual place, the orb was much less powerful. It would only carry his voice and he would only hear Vanessa back. Still, talking with her was perhaps the only part of his weekly routine he enjoyed that was not tied at all to any military tasks. While they had begun to talk for the first month about military matters, seven months later, their conversations were much more about personal matters than war. He thought it was better that way.

"Good evening, Lento," Vanessa greeted him. The weakened orb made her voice muffled. So much so he had to put it closer to his ear to hear her over the bawdy stories his men told around the fire.

"Good evening."

"Is something wrong with the orb over there? I don't see you."

"Hmm," he looked up to think about a quick excuse, "Well, the novice mages did something bad enough to anger Noah, one of my generals, so she has them training all night long. It might be because of that."

"Oh, she too?"

Lento raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"It's Noah Klaki, right?"

"Yeah."

Vanessa chuckled, "Rumour has it that she has a twin, adopted by a different family. Her supposed sister, Speka Oscuritá, reserved the same punishment for the novices over here. You can imagine the kind of mess she got into for making Velder's communication near impossible for everyone for the night when the King was negotiating with the Sanderian Khalife."

Lento frowned, "Wow, she didn't know about it or what?"

"She did not. And from then on, the mages are all given express orders to not practice over certain days, no matter their rank. Maybe you should put the same rule over there."

Lento smiled bitterly, "Yeah, maybe I should."

"You sound depressed."

He was. While he had evacuated civilians and kept the villages of the Feita area running despite the sudden appearance of demons, the war seemed far from winnable. He had no idea how to fight against beasts that, until a week ago, only existed in legends.

"Do you feel comfortable telling me why?"

Lento had always been an honest man, but he would rather spare her the grim truth. A diluted version of what was going on would have to do. "Well, there's a new band of brigands that are looting the temples. They're pretty well organized, but it's nothing I can't handle. Really. It's just an unfortunate timing, I suppose."

"Oh, why? Is it because of the mid-summer harvest?"

"No...it's actually a selfish reason. My birthday is tomorrow and, well, I wanted to take a proper break for once, now that things have settled down."

A short silence preceded Vanessa's reply. Even if he could not see her now, the tone of her voice gave away a bright smile and an idea lightning up in her mind.

"You're gonna be twenty, right?"

"Yes."

"Then, exceptionally, how about we talk tomorrow too?"

Lento swallowed, hearing the small voice in his mind tell him he was being an idiot for giving Vanessa false hope. He should have told her the truth from the start. Now, he could only dig further into his web of lies.

"Yeah, Vanessa. I'd love that."

"Perfect. Then, until tomorrow!"

When the mana left the sphere, he noticed that everything around him was oddly quiet. It was not the usual calm of his men sleeping and one glance at the cloth of his tent confirmed it. All the high-ranking officers he had brought for this mission were not so subtly standing around to spy on him. With a heavy sigh, Lento got up and saw the shadows whisper among each other and begin to run away.

"I saw all of you," he hollered. The shadows froze in place, "Stay where you are."

By the time he got out, his generals were all lined up but their smug smiles gave away that they were not going to let what they had heard alone. At least, not for tonight.

"Commander," Noah began, exaggerating her indignation with a hand over her heart, "I'm hurt. I would never do night practices or else I'd disturb your two-hour long conversations with that girlfriend of yours."

Lento rolled his eyes, "She's not my-"

"I think she meant girlfriend as in female friend," Edan quickly intervened.

"Well, she is my friend."

Valak chuckled underneath his armour, "The kind of female friend you religiously talk to and even bring a very unnecessary orb to a mission to keep in contact with her. And you lie to her face to not make her worry. You're into her. Face it like a man, lad."

Most of what he had said were facts. But it was too early to mistake a good friendship for love, right? Noah, as usual, was the first to ask him more about Vanessa, how she was and how long they had known each other. Usually, neither Edan nor Valak would be interested in such matters, but they seemed to make an exception for this one case.

"Why are you two so interested in this?" Lento asked, looking at his two male generals.

"You seem like ice. Like you have no stakes in this besides obeying the last order commander Savilant gave you. No offence."

"None taken," Lento lied.

Edan seemed to take his answer at face value as he continued, "I'd rather fight for a man who can say that he'll protect Feita so a person he loves doesn't suffer than a man who will only protect Feita to be in the good graces of the Felfords."

Valak nodded, "Same here, more or less. But also, young love is so important. If you don't learn to treat your first girl right, you won't ever treat any other right. If you truly care for her, I'll keep an eye out so you don't croak, lad. Also, feel free to ask me how to flirt with women, eh?"

The man gave him a strong pat on the back, almost making Lento lose his balance. Valak chuckled at him. "Lad, you gotta build those muscles more or else you're gonna be a dwarf for life."

"I've grown up."

"Yeah, you're like two flies taller than Noah. Congrats."

The other two generals chuckled. Normally, Lento would have taken offence to everything they had said, but he thought about their mission. No matter how many times he thought his plan over and over, it was a suicide mission. He might as well have a laugh with them before the inevitable happened.

"Ok, fine. I'll answer your questions about Vanessa. We were in the same unit as recruits, but once we graduated, she went into a different division. We only talked again after the previous commander left me in charge."

"Oh, you went for a military woman? You like challenges, huh?"

Noah stared at Valak. He shrugged and looked at her, "Hey, I mean no disrespect."

The purple-haired mage smirked, "I know. I was just too much of a challenge for Mr. Fullmetal playboy here. I guess he now assumes every woman in the military wants nothing a man could offer."

"That's not untrue, Noah."

Edan glared at both, "Could you not interrupt all the time?"

"Aye. My bad, Edan...and sorry, lad."

"Sorry, guys."

Edan looked at Lento coldly, "Please continue."

"Alright...it's moments like this when I wonder why Noel Savilant would choose me over any of you, but that's a conversation for another time. So, uhm, we started to talk because she wanted to help me out when she heard about the new post I had. And our conversations were strictly professional for...well, about a month, I guess?"

"What changed?" Edan asked.

"See, lad? This why Noel chose you. Edan sets a rule and immediately makes exceptions for himself, I don't like being the big boss and Noah...well…"

The elemental mage raised an eyebrow at him, her mauve gaze cold as a blizzard "Noah what, Valak?"

The armoured man looked back worriedly at Lento, "Exactly this. When she's mad, she's scary. We would never follow each other's orders and our men only know how to follow us. My men would not obey to Edan nor Noah and they wouldn't accept anybody else either. Same goes for Edan's and Noah's men. Also, your family is, on paper, an ally of the Felfords, so it's easier to give an image of blind faith in the Crown."

Lento slowly nodded. From that perspective, Noel's decision was sound. He took a deep breath and continued his story as he felt Edan's monotone stare start to burn him. He mentioned some of their conversations, but most of all how refreshing it was, from the beginning, to have someone to talk to without feeling like he was walking on eggshells.

"Although, recently," Lento added, "I feel at ease with you and most of the men underneath us. Those I have met so far, of course. But it's still...well, perhaps special to talk to Vanessa in particular. I look forward to it and I don't want to see the same cold, military side of her she has shown everyone else as far as I know. Telling her how things truly are over here would end those informal conversations and turn them to work again. And more trouble for us, in the end. I know Vanessa would not mean any harm, but she'd report everything and we'd be interrogated by the King and the Felfords."

Edan nodded, "And you believed the scouting reports I gave you over your duty to Velder's rats."

Lento grimaced, "I...don't like how Velderian politics are right now but your work is excellent, Edan. There's a possibility this invasion was triggered or accelerated by rogue Velderians and we're the first line of defense for all of the civilians here. We can't risk being stabbed in the back. And Vanessa shouldn't carry the weight of our blood if there's indeed a conspiracy. The real masterminds behind this, if they exist, would push the blame on her," he paused for a moment, his gaze lowering as he finished his thoughts quietly, "like they did to my brother when he got tangled in that war."

Noah nodded with a compassionate smile, "The decision you just took takes a lot of courage. Reijak would've been as proud as we are."

"I agree. I'm glad to have found out your spirit is worth lending my blade to. Your tactics are also sound for your age. I'll do my best to help us retreat if it comes down to it."

Valak messed up Lento's hair with his hand, "Yep, this is a lad I'd watch over. Hardworking and honest. Not crooked by the Felfords like those damn Velderians."

The youngest Field General in the history of the Centurion Guard pushed Valak's hand away with a smirk and told them to catch some rest for the long journey tomorrow. His generals treated more like a younger brother, but he did not mind it anymore. Ever since he had just accepted he could not make veterans in their thirties treat him like a normal superior, leading them had been easier. Feita's division had more or less their own set of rules, even if they belonged to the Centurion Guard. It had been hard to adapt to it but now, Lento preferred it over the strictness of the Velderian army.

There were only six hours until dawn birthed into the sky and the army of two hundred men marched on to the lower levels of the temples, using passages that only mages could unveil with their magic. No demon had gotten this far, Lento noticed. The underground gardens were still safe but it would only be a matter of time before the demons found the way further and further down. The march stretched through the corridors, their shadows molding darkness within the green-lit chambers full of living crystal-like vines. The plants did not attack them but rather slid over the walls like serpents to guide them to where they were the strongest. A heavy hit made the ceiling tremble. Dozens of vines quickly shifted upwards, holding the shattering rocks in place so the army was not crushed by it.

Lento glanced at Noah and the armoured mage nodded, ordering her men to enhance their speed. A circle of white runes extended like a lake underneath their feet and, when they began to run, every man was as fast as a stallion. They reached the chamber the plants were guiding them to in a matter of minutes, leaving behind the narrow corridors behind. Edan's men were at the rearguard and locked the door behind them, putting a heavy metal bar to barricade themselves. It would look that way to the demons, but this room was the deadliest trap they could ever get into. If anything, Lento's men were in the perfect position for an ambush. Now, they only had to wait. The heavy steps of the beastly demons made the ceiling of the underground gardens tremble. Drums of bloodshed were closing in, even the crystal vines and sentient plants jerked with fear. Lento clenched the handle of his longsword, his gaze fixed on the heavy stone gates that separated one of the last bastions his army held in the historical temples. With the help of the powerful plants powered by the El, Lento was certain that they could hold their ground here. Surely the plants would be fatal to demons. The walls and floor were covered with vines and he could hear three colossuses of nature assemble themselves with hundreds of undying plants.

A heavy knock on the door echoed through the garden like thunder. Lento took a deep breath, raising his hand confidently; his heart and mind were not. The spearmen around him raised their shields in unison, taking one step forward with their weapons pointed like thorns at the gates. Another bang. Louder and so strong Lento felt a breeze through the holes of his helmet. Were they enough? Were two hundred men and a little under a thousand plants enough? He had been lucky to relocate the men from the Altar of Dedication before the unthinkable happened, but this was different. They were only human and their enemies were the stuff of legends. The heavy reinforced steel bar shook as the bangs got more frequent, the soldiers' hearts ran with fear. Dark claws and thunderous roars slipped through, the metal creaked.

"Archers, Mages!" Lento hollered, lifting his right hand. Nature itself answered to his voice, crawling to the entrance to poison the incoming sea of unknown bloodthirsty creatures beyond.

A few screeched and got once again behind the gates, but the calm only left him enough time for the past half a year to flash over his eyes. His routine had been easier, with Allegro and a few other merchants that had become his allies, but he could not help but wonder what would Vanessa think if he did no longer communicated with her twice a week. It seemed only yesterday that they had laughed together, kept themselves going with a few words. It hurt to think that he would perhaps never keep in contact with her again. If the El was indeed a divinity, Lento prayed that he would live through this. Feita could not fall or else Velder would be in danger.

Even if he knew how strong Vanessa was, this terror was something he did not want her to experience. Ever. A screech deafened them for a moment, sending powerful gusts of wind into the gardens. His men stood their ground, their armour digging into the floor of stone and earth. The vines, however, were growing thinner, vanishing as if they had been cut in a maelstrom of blades. The gates burst open and a hundred flying, red demons surrounded them, all of them screeching. Deformed lizard-looking grey demons shot a volley of arrows, spearmen dashed towards them, cutting down the vines that were trying to tie them down. It was hell, chaos.

Why would he ever think he was in a position to ambush the demons?

"Fire! Fifth formation!" His archers' arrows flew, the mages casted a barrier around them. The nature golems launched their powerful roots like whips at the demons. But the demons were in the thousands.

* * *

The following evening, Vanessa took the care to put some makeup on. It was nothing outrageous, only powder of flower essences to colour her cheeks and lips. This much for a birthday would have to do. She had cut her hair recently, but she had combed it the best she could for this occasion. It was only natural to try to look good for a birthday, right? She used the crystal to activate the orb's spell. It lit up normally, but no image not even a sound came from it. Minutes passed, five, ten then fifteen. Vanessa furrowed her eyebrows, wondering what was going on. Were the brigands still on the run? She undid the spell and the orb stopped glowing. It was the first time in months he had gone back on his word.

"Well," she muttered to herself, stretching on her chair before cleaning the makeup off her face, "It's no big deal, I guess. He must be busy."

A couple of weak knocks on the door of her office made her turn around, "Come in."

Speka entered the room, her short dress hugging her body and her axe-like staff hung over her shoulders as she casually made her way in.

"Tried to call him, huh?"

Vanessa nodded.

"And nobody told you?"

"Told me what?"

The mage dragged a chair to sit down crossing her legs. Speka pushed her twin braids back, making them fall behind her back. She left her staff over her lap, holding it with one hand, "What is that Asini guy to you, Vanessa?"

"Just a friend."

The purple-haired mage adjusted her glasses, raising an eyebrow. "One hell of a friend to talk for hours this late at night two times every week. He's in Feita, right?" Vanessa nodded. "And you're absolutely sure you haven't heard what happened over there?"

"Well, there's just brigands in the temples. Why are you like this tonight, Speka?"

Speka's eyes widened, she covered her mouth with her hand and got closer to Vanessa to whisper what she knew.

"Don't tell anyone you heard it from me, but those brigands you mentioned are a foreign army. I don't know much more than that, but if the rumours are true, they're in the dozens of thousands."

The blue-haired captain froze, her gaze looking down at the orb on her desk. She pressed her lips for a moment and before the mage of darkness had the time to ask her anything, Vanessa's expression returned to her usual confident calm.

"Thank you for your report, Speka. Rest for now. I'll need you to keep track of the drills of the second-year students."

"Sorry, Vanessa, but I have other plans."

"Yeah, I know. You're supposed to make rounds with Rowan Village in the northern forests. I'll go instead. Your talent is wasted there, lieutenant."

The mage scoffed, throwing an outraged glare at Vanessa, "You could have just asked you needed to get out of town, you know? No need to force my hand with your rank. Friends don't do that."

The door slammed shut, leaving only the clock on the wall to dictate the passage of a dark silence. Vanessa slammed her fists on the table. Her hands opened and swept across her workspace beyond the orb she used to talk with Lento. The reports went flying onto the ground, the dried quill went for a short-lived flight before landing at her feet. The flask of ink rolled and broke into a hundred shards, bleeding black onto the wooden floor. The moon hid behind the clouds, leaving her to witness the silent tantrum she had just thrown for things that were outside of anyone's control. No. All of this injustice could have been avoided if Noel Savilant had picked someone else.

The blue-haired woman held her head in her hands, covering her face as the embers of the frown on her forehead died out, its ashes making her eyes itch, burn so much until tears streamed down her face. She allowed her shoulders to tremble with silent sobs until her head hurt. The female knight took a deep breath and silently put every single paper back in its place. Her eyes were surely red now. If her superiors asked, she would leave the reports she finished at the crack of dawn. Right now, the only thing she wished for was a bed to lie down and stop thinking about anything for the next six and a half hours.

The next morning felt as if she had never changed since she joined the army. Drowning herself in her work, closing her thoughts from her routine. She was no different than a statue and it was better that way. She rode for the first four hours of her day to Rowan, barely stopping to talk to anyone beyond a brief salute if she did not need to report anything work-related to them. No one said a word when she crossed the gates into Velder's outskirts, not even the travellers. She looked straight forward and the few people she saw on the road averted their eyes from hers without even nodding a hello. It was fine. She was going to get used to this in a matter of days. The only thing she had to do is to get the reports of Rowan's guards and help them make their rounds.

Vanessa did not take notice of the way she was speaking, nor even register the tense tone the guards were taking when talking to her. It was as if they feared she would fire them on the spot. But such a reaction was silly; the men posted in Rowan were competent. There was no reason for her to even scold them about anything. Besides, the village was quite small, only made of a handful of abodes more than five miles away from one another due to their farming fields. The only place where the village felt alive was the small chapel in the heart of the town. There was a circle of people gathered in front of the gates, clapping and some even singing. She figured it had to be another travelling bard. Her assumptions were confirmed when the melody of a guitar carried on as she got closer, shortening the ten-block distance that was left of her last round. The guitar gave a passionate finish to the melody and the audience of ten people clapped, stepping back so the bard could get up. Vanessa would have recognized that messy white hair anywhere, even if he was hiding most of it under a bandana. The green eyes and husky voice were only the confirmation.

"Thanks for listening, folks," Noel said, bowing at his humble crowd.

Lento was dead and the man who had sent him to his death was laughing, playing the guitar as if he did not have blood in his hands. She hid behind the western wall of the chapel, waiting for the moment he would be left alone. All the other guards were still far from Rowan's social centre. The barracks were ten minutes away. Ten minutes were more than enough to remind Noel that he had no right to pretend to be a happy and innocent bard after what his orders had led to. As if he had already suspected her presence, Noel glanced at her and excused himself from his new fans. Vanessa hid completely behind the chapel's walls and not so long after, Noel came to her with a smirk she wished to slap out of his face.

"You're still terrible at hiding your presence, Lang. Actually, you might have gotten a little worse."

"I was merely waiting to talk with you."

The bard's olive gaze lost all their joking spirit in a matter of seconds, his smirk eclipsed by a tense frown, "I see," he put a hand over one of the swords that hung over his back, "You might want to stop glaring at me with such murderous intent or I might need to act in self-defence. Let's keep it civil."

"I'm perfectly fine," she slowly answered, trying to understand how to soften the look in her eyes, "I just wished to talk to a veteran of the situation he created in the territory he was in charge of."

Noel sighed, "I'm no longer a soldier, don't speak about-"

"I'm sure you were aware that the noble houses of Feita held the Asinis in low regard. And still you sent an Asini almost half your age to replace you there."

She stared at him, refusing to let him have any chance to interrupt anything she had to say, "You probably don't know how much a rookie would struggle when you leave him with the kind of responsibility only veterans can handle," she scoffed bitterly, "After all, it's not like you could've seen him nearly work himself to death. You are just here to play your stupid guitar as if nothing is wrong with the decision you took!"

She felt her face flush, her frown return as her voice grew into silent thunder, "You were right to execute his brother for what he did, but what did Lento ever do to you or the Cronwells? What did he do to deserve an unofficial death sentence?"

Noel's eyes were not even fazed by anything she had said, waiting for her to finish. Vanessa scoffed, "You left a nineteen-year-old to die to foreign invaders right on his birthday. You executed him the day he turned twenty, not even a day older than Raven Cronwell. You'd call it poetic justice, wouldn't you? Her throat was completely dry and she only cleared her throat before lowering the tone of her voice to a cold murmur, "That's all I wanted to say."

Noel took a deep breath, "I had no idea that Feita is getting invaded. As for the rest of your accusations, they're unfounded. We would never honour the Cronwell's memory if we used the same dirty tactics that ruined their house. If we had, I would be in the Royal War Council by now, gauging just how long Owen Felford would last playing his cards flawlessly. I believe we are done here, Lang. Have a good evening."

Vanessa lowered her head, looking at Noel's shoes walk coldly away, tuning his guitar as if she was never really there. What was wrong with her? It had been years since she had exploded like that in front of anyone. And in front of Noel, she had only made a fool out of herself. She hit the wall with her left fist, almost welcoming the numb pain that spread across her hand like waves. Vanessa took two deep breaths, passing her hands over her face to erase the frown that remained. She was not sure if she quite made it, but the whirlwind of strange urges to yell was at the back of her mind. She reviewed her schedule for the week, walking to the barracks, welcomed by almost compassionate stares. It was whiplash from the fearful indifference she had gotten when she had come. The leader of the guards, a man in his forties, gave her the reports she was going to take back to the capital, but just as she grabbed them, he did not let them go.

"Captain Lang, sometimes we can't stop all the tragedies, but that needs to be our reason to protect the people we can, not something to weigh us down. I'll send daily reports to the central command of all the movements my men can monitor through our side of the forest."

"You heard?"

"A small town has no secrets," the man said, letting the book of reports go. Then, he turned around and went back to his usual duties, leaving Vanessa blushing at the doors of the barracks.

The frown on her face returned.

"By the El, what is wrong with me?!" She hissed before getting out to the stables and ride the way she had come from.

On her way back, everyone was nothing but a faceless shadow in her mind. All that she could think about is how she had embarrassed herself in Rowan. What was she expecting, going out of her way to yell at Noel like that? That he brought everything how it was? That he consoled her like one would do to a child? She had no right to ask for neither. She was already an adult and a soldier. Going out of Velder had seemed like an excellent idea at that moment, but she had not thought it through. Should she ask for the two days off she had saved for the winter festivals? No, it was better to have things to do instead of just wallowing in emotions she struggled to fully understand. As if she were nothing but her mind's puppet, Vanessa went straight to her office, reading Rowan's reports without any word nor number really sticking in her mind. Her head was already filled with countless other thoughts. The last conversation she had had with Lento replayed in her mind. Did he know an army was lurking in the ruins?

If so, why would he lie about it to her? She could have helped him. No. Even if he did not know, she should have figured that he needed backup. The tone of his voice was an obvious hint. Vanessa closed the records and her eyes met the shiny surface of the communication orb. She thought about breaking it, but remembering the past seven months made her reconsider that rash choice. It would be too harsh and those orbs were too valuable either way. Vanessa took a cloth of velvet and wrapped the orb in it and took it to the corner of a shelf that held a few grimoires. Of course, the stone was not ordinary. It was a mineral that naturally absorbed and nullified magic. Now, any glimpse into the source of her pain would be gone. The orb would lose its power and be no different than a crystal orb in a few weeks from now. She only had to keep herself as busy and tired as possible until then. Once the communication orb was nothing but a crystal orb, she would put it back where it was.

* * *

Nine long months passed by with increasing sightings of deformed foreign soldiers closing into the capital. It was exactly one year and four months since Lento, and perhaps Feita, had fallen. Captain Vanessa Lang escorted the civilians of Area 3 out into the refuges built through the past three months. The structures were shabby at best, but even through the bitter colds of the incoming winter, nobody had died of cold yet. Vanessa heard the uneven march of the invaders behind them. She only made a gesture with her hand and half of her unit went onwards, getting the civilians out while she, Speka and seventy other knights and mages turned around on their mounts to face the incoming monster infantry. It was the first time Vanessa had seen them this close and there was no doubt about it anymore: these monsters looked exactly like the demons in children's books. Vanessa saw one of the demonic soldiers throw a flask at them.

"Mages!" She hollered. A blue mana barrier surrounded her and her troops, but Vanessa felt the tickle of mana around her. She was barely out of the shield's boundary. In fact, only the point of her helmet, which hid her face, sprung out. It was safe enough, she figured. The demons had no mages with them. They would have an easy victory. The flask broke over the surface of the barrier, setting a cloud of yellow smoke free. Vanessa did not even see smoke near her when her eyes began to burn, her head hurt as if someone was knocking it with a hammer. She gagged for air as she stepped back, her eyes tearing up uncontrollably, burning as if they were set on fire.

She saw a blur of a gigantic demon dash through the streets. Each step it took was a tremor on the ground, shaking every soldier to the core of their bones. Vanessa ordered Speka to summon a poisonous cloud where the big demon was coming from. Vanessa's ears began to ring, the ground was dancing below her feet. She could barely see if Speka had summoned anything, but the tremors had not slowed down. They had to make a run for it before that giant was too close. Sloppily, she signalled for everyone to retreat. Speka came with her mount to pick her up and ride away. The forty mages of the rearguard sent a hail of meteors onto the enemies, breaking the streets until the ashes and dust lingered in the air to allow everyone to escape. Vanessa closed her eyes, only hearing the trot of Speka's unit get out of the residential area. When Vanessa opened her eyes again, there was no difference between what she saw with her eyes closed.

"Speka?", Vanessa timidly called, groping her way up to the mage's shoulders, "Speka, this is still you, right?"

"Yes, captain. What's the matter?"

"I...I can't see. Please take me to the clerics."

"Roger that, ma'am."

The ride got quieter, then the lively conversations between guards, civilians and some merchants signalled to her that they had made it to the outskirts. The way the sun heated Speka's shoulder armour, Vanessa tried to guess the hour. She figured that perhaps she would have to live blind from now on. The warmth was perhaps enough for an hour past midday.

"What hour is it?"

"An hour before midday, ma'am. The House of Healing is only five minutes ahead."

"I see."

She clenched Speka's shoulders as tightly as she could, lowering her head, squinting her eyes but not seeing or feeling anything beyond what she had speculated before. The rest of their travel was silent, only the waning, cold breeze of autumn and rare other passerbys carried murmurs of conversations briefly to her ears and away from it. Vanessa needed the help of two clerics to get off Speka's horse and into the House of Healing. The smell of incense, herb infusions and the quiet muttering of healing spells put her more at ease with her fear. If someone had asked her while she was guided to a hammock if she was afraid of losing her sight completely, Vanessa would have answered that being blind was not bad at all. Someone took her helmet off, the screech of a wooden chair over stone made her tilt her head.

Then, a woman spoke. "Good morning, captain. I'm Copper, the cleric in charge of your case. Your lieutenant informed us you might have been poisoned by something the invaders threw at you and your men. Could you please give me all the details?"

Vanessa told her the events of the battle that led to her blindness, including the colour of the gas and the way she had seen it spread out. She heard the quiet scratches of a quill on paper and the chimes of flasks getting sorted before the gentle hum of healing magic barely an inch away from her face. She could not tell how far Copper's hands were, but she was familiar enough with magic to know that the spell she had summoned was almost over her face.

"And you can't see anything now, correct?"

"Yes. It's as if I had my eyes closed. But they're open, right?"

Clothes softly rustled and the chair creaked. Copper had most likely gotten up. Vanessa heard the soles of her feet take two steps to her right. She turned around and the click of a key followed the flip of a thin page. Was it a report or was it a prescription? Vanessa wished it was the latter. A day without any work was unacceptable for someone in her rank at this point. The demons were in Velder. She could not stay like this.

"You're are very lucky, captain. The substance you were poisoned with is almost identical to a potent toxin found in Lanox. I'm sure we can bring your sight back in two weeks."

"Two weeks? I can't afford staying here this long."

"You don't have to stay here, but you can't work either. Your sight can't returning right away, even if both you and I wish it did. You just have to keep your eyes bandaged and take the infusions twice a day. I trust your lieutenant will make sure you heal in time."

Vanessa took a deep breath, stopping her tears from flowing, clenching her fists as tightly as she could. Her anger was in the past. She was ahead of that pain now. She could control herself now and for the rest of her life. She pondered if Lento had died at the demons' poison too. There were mages in Feita, but it was easier to fight in a town than in temples. Maybe he was ambushed. Even now, those thoughts never left. But they had to. What had happened there, whatever it was, could not be undone. It was not fair, it made her wish she could rewrite Velder's history, but she could not do any of that.

She had chosen to serve the kingdom like the priestesses served the El. She never trusted she could change, always too indecisive and devoted to ever look for love or at least companionship. But it only took seven months to prove herself wrong. It was too late now. She lifted her head, as instructed by Copper and her eyes stung again as a cool bandage wrapped around them.

"Captain, don't worry so much. You're doing even better than I assumed."

Vanessa nodded, "Glad to hear that. Do you think I can heal faster?"

The ambient noises of the House of Healing continued for a good minute. Finally, Copper's voice chimed back in.

"It's hard to tell right now, but with a regular checkup on top of your treatment, I'm sure you'll recover in no time."

* * *

Lento was glad that Allegro's mission had not been fruitless, but he regretted not sending him with any armed men. He was not familiar with the desert bandits and honestly believed no village could settle under that heat. He thanked the El the young merchant had made it back fully recovered. What he did not like about the help that had come their way was one man everyone had thought dead: Raven Cronwell. And, by all means, the Velderian noble remembered everything. But something about Ravn was broken. That much was clear from the first moment they met face to face. Lento was not his brother's twin, but Lento knew Raven connected the dots even if he never said his full name. There was a certain vengeful glee in Raven's golden eyes when Lento had to explain why he would only talk with them in his office. Always sitting down. The young general was afraid of what this broken down version of Raven Cronwell could do with that mutated arm of his if he decided to sneak out of his group and go for him. Lento had kept his legs, but he could no longer stand and protect himself beyond a couple of quick and strong stabs while sitting down.

And even then, if he lost his balance and fell, he was as good as dead. All in all, Lento preferred being safe than sorry.

He always kept some villagers he had helped before watching the group's every move. If Raven was on his own, they always contacted him and he put guards on rounds around the area. The fallen heir of the Cronwells had done nothing so far, but the number of times Lento had been close to death had put him for any possibility of a threat. And while he trusted everyone but his men a year ago, his trust for the adventurers ended when Raven's recklessness in battle began. It got the job done, but sometimes he could not help but wonder if the man put the Knights of Feita in danger on purpose.

He took a deep breath, rubbing his temples. If only he could talk to her again, he would do so in an instant, maybe only to reassure her that Feita was not done for. Lento looked around his office and pulled the communication orb closer to him. It had been roughly a year since he had talked to Vanessa. Even now, he wondered why she did not respond anymore. Did she get another office and could not take the orb with her? He did not hate her for it. He sometimes selfishly wondered if he had seen her again, if things would have been easier to manage again. Everyone seemed to think he was at the top of everything, even managing to push the demons back to the Altar of Dedication. But the past few months had been a struggle.

He worried if the attack here was nothing but a distraction. After all, why would any invaders go raid and siege a village like Feita for so long? Considering the forces they had come with, Lento's forces should have been wiped out long ago. That sudden thought led him to reopen a map of Lurensia and he searched for Velder. The King, the priestesses, The Earth El...everything that Lurensia held dear was right there. Lento was not much of a believer in the old myths that spoke of a goddess of the El, but he knew that the El was the gem that made lands fertile. If it was not for the Earth El and the shards spread across the continent, Lurensia would be exactly like the Bethman desert. His eyes widened, suddenly aware of where his thoughts were converging.

He called Edan for help, but just as he came in, the group of adventurers also came barging in, with the same terrible news he had only pondered about only seconds ago.

"General Lento," the red-haired boy began, a frown darkening his gaze, "The Velder Capital has fallen to the demons."

Although he would have liked to bang his fist on the table, Lento only frowned briefly before taking a deep breath.

"I see. Everyone but the Nasod Eve and general Edan are dismissed."

"Why Eve?", the Sanderian mage, Aisha, wondered.

"I wish to discuss a plan of mine to help Velder. I've heard she can summon Nasod machinery to battle and it might help all of us defend the capital."

The female Nasod raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms over her black dress, "I do not think your plan is that simple, but I will oblige to hear it."

Although the rest of her comrades were not all in board with it, they eventually left her alone with Edan. His general had not quite been the same after accidentally unleashing a reliquary from the underground chapel, but his judgement as a soldier was still impeccable.

"You're right, Eve. My plan is more like a request, really."

"Why do you choose to be dishonest about it, then?"

"Because, whether I like it or not, My family and Raven have...bad blood."

"Is that a human expression? If so, what does it mean?"

"It just means he hates my family as a whole. That's why I can't talk about everything with all of you."

"Understood."

Lento nodded at her, "Thank you for understanding. First, I have a question. How risky is for a human to use Nasod technology?"

Edan glanced at him, "I hope seeing Raven Cronwell did not give you insane ideas, commander."

The field general glanced at his subordinate back and softly shook his head, "If I wasn't thinking straight, I wouldn't ask for the risks."

The silver-haired Nasod looked at them and tilted her head, "What kind of use are you referring to?"

Lento leaned back on his chair, stretched his arms for a while, "A field general such as myself is expected to defend the Kingdom if the time comes. By principle, I'd like to head there personally and fight to reclaim the Kingdom."

He paused, impressed by how truthful he could make his lies sound like nowadays. In fact, he was worried about Vanessa. The demons were like nothing anyone, even hardened veterans, had ever seen. The very thought that she could have been injured by an attack and that he was stuck here on a chair with wheels did not sit well with him. At all.

"You are lying, Lento."

He scoffed, "What gave it away?"

"Biological signs. Slight spike in heart rate, change in neurological wavelengths...that's mostly it."

Lento raised an eyebrow, wondering if words like 'wavelength' really existed in Elrian. Perhaps they were ancient words the Nasod had tried to translate into the modern common tongue,

"Alright, I'll tell you. I have people I care about in Velder. As a cripple, I can't protect them no matter how much I want to. Now my request is: if the risks aren't high, could you help me get back on my feet?"

"I could. But what do you interpret as risk?"

"Simple. Not becoming anything close to Raven. That arm looks like it's taking over him."

The golden-eyed nasod looked at her smaller servants and the white one hovered around her in circles, as if it were worried, while the black one was calmly hovering up and down, eventually stopping the crazy spins of the other one. Eve made a quick gesture with her hand and the two small Nasods returned to her side, merely standing by as they usually did.

"I need more information about your request, Lento. Do you wish to recover only for the battle or do you wish a permanent recovery?"

Lento furrowed his eyebrows, resting his chin over his fist, "Which is the less risky?"

The Nasod shrugged, "Both can be. It depends on your mental strength. Raven could not fight against his implants, so they mutated. I could give you a temporary armour and the same could happen to you. Just like I could implant nanochips that could give you your legs back forever and you remain under control."

Her eyes got brighter and the two Nasods next to her approached him, lights scanning him. Edan frowned, unsheathing his relic claymore. The Code Nemesis, as Eve called herself, raised a shield of scrap metal between her Nasods and Edan.

"They are only looking, Edan. I do not know your commander very well, so I cannot give him an estimate if Moby and Remy do not scan his vitals thoroughly."

Edan glanced at him, looking for any sign to act and unleash the ancient power to protect him, but Lento dismissed him. Although he frowned, Edan drew his weapon back and Eve took the metal shards back through some sort of summoning circle. An instant later, the two Nasods went back towards Eve and she made her final judgement.

"According to the data Remy and Moby collected, I have found a permanent solution for you. Your chances of not going berserk are about eighty percent. And with the right Nasod augments," she trailed her sentence off with a proud smile, "you might as well be stronger than Raven himself."

* * *

Vanessa took a deep breath as she sank into the icy waters of a small lake in the forests. Her temples were scarred by yellowish burns that no amount of treatment could heal. Even after 4 months. The moment she took her glasses off, her vision became as blurry as if she were looking through a glass washed away by a deluge. The water cleared her mind, weighing her hair down until her bangs were sticking over her forehead and temples, dripping bitterly cold drops down her face. There was nothing comforting about these woods, nor Velder as a whole. Every day was simply a coordinated retreat one or two more yards further north. The demonic forces were too strong and although she had sent both Luriel and her sister to deliver the grim news to any town who could help, Vanessa was beginning to realize it was a lost cause.

The demon's armour was incredibly hard to pierce and the dark elves were so nimble that they could cause ravages among the rearguard before they could even take one of them down. The Centurion Guard itself was no better than a militia after the King and the War Council in its entirety were gone from the picture. Vanessa did not know what to make of it, but she owed her Kingdom the certainty that they would all, at least, be alive to see the sun rise tomorrow. After her short bath, she donned her uniform and armour back and headed back to the refugee camp and its increasingly rundown huts. They were supposed to have returned to the safety of the Royal Fortress by now, but even children understood they would most likely never walk into their homes again.

The mood around her was not as grim as her mind. People believed in the promise of adventurers and other towns answering to their calling. She only forced herself to agree, but at this rate, they would reach the ruins of Feita and fall to a pincer attack. The blue-haired captain was walking to the stables when the bells of the gates echoed through the camp. She looked up and counted the number of rings. One. Two. Allied forces? Vanessa's eyes widened and, like many other soldiers, she rushed to the walls of the wooden fortress. On her way, she heard cheers, prayers to the El and bits and pieces of muttered questions. Who were those allies? Were they from Elder? Perhaps Bethma or Ruben? She had trouble believing soldiers from those places could have reached the capital this fast, but the last place they could have come from was Feita. But that was only a wild, naive, hope, right? Every soldier on the gates knew Vanessa and they let her through as they opened the gates. She first focused on the few hundred armoured men, dressed in an olive-green uniform, some carrying flags with Velder's armoury printed over them.

Then she looked at what she assumed to be a group of adventurers. Compared to the rest of the troops, they stood out like a sore thumb. One elf, a mage, and two other very recognizable people: the red-haired knight with revealing clothing was undoubtedly Elesis Sieghart and the armoured teen next to her had to be her brother. Those red eyes and red hair was recognizable anywhere in Velder.

Elesis smirked at her, "Long time no see, Vanessa. Short hair looks surprisingly good on you."

The Blazing Heart offered her hand and Vanessa took it, giving it a formal and brief handshake.

"It has been a while, Elesis," she answered looking again through the troops.

One raven-haired man, dressed like the rest of the troops had some kind of armour over his legs and arms. It was black and orange, matched with his two handed broadsword. It was a stark contrast with the dull silver armour that protected his chest. He was tall, far taller than her, but her mind stopped her heart from having any kind of hope. Whoever it was, he was most certainly not Lento. The patch of red hair on his bangs gave her almost the certainty that the soldier she was looking at was a stranger.

Elesis seemed to notice her lingering gaze and she raised an eyebrow at her, "You know Feita's field general, Vanessa?"

"Pardon me?!"

The red-haired woman put her hands in the air, "Hey, no need to get all worked up. I was just asking. If you don't know-"

"Sorry, it's just the stress of this war. What's his name?"

Elesis glanced at the strangely armoured man, who had begun to discuss with his subordinates and the men on the wall, "He never told us his full name, but his first name is Lento."

Vanessa's heart sank painfully in her chest, her fists clenched for a second but she did not let her emotions live on her face for more than the blink of an eye.

"I see. I'd love to welcome you further, but I have to check how much food we have left. Your help is very much needed, but it means more mouths to feed. Speak with captain Speka Oscurità if you need anything else today."

Vanessa turned around and walked away, conflicting thoughts running through her mind as she went exactly where she had told Elesis she would be. Lento was alive. Those were good news, right? That meant Feita was also doing well. But that was not enough to put her mind at ease. She had passed more time avoiding even keeping any hope and tried to bury everything away, blinded to any hopeful thoughts. It was unlike her, for sure, but it just seemed so silly back then to hope for anything more than a confirmation of the worst-case scenario. She flipped through the records of the inventory, checking the barns of grain and sacks of flour, dried meat, marinated carrots and the few other vegetables. She absentmindedly updated the current inventory and as she was about to calculate the rations, a small knock at the door made her put back the quill over the tiny desk to her right.

"Yes?" she asked whoever had entered, refusing to turn around to see who they were.

Her hopes were as great as her fear of finding out who had come to find her here without saying a word. Just two knocks.

"It's...been too long, Vanessa."

Lento's voice had not changed at all, but the quiet metal chiming of his armour followed him each step. She had so many questions to ask, but did she have the right to speak to someone she had buried more than a year ago? His steps stopped and the silence sent a chill down her spine, her heart raced, urging her to turn around and try to talk again after so many years. Yet, she was frozen in place and could barely manage to reply.

"It's been a long time indeed."

"I heard that, well, people here reasonably assumed Feita was done for. I really don't blame them. It's a miracle me and Edan's men even made it here. Valak and Noah's units weren't so lucky."

She had no idea about that. She had no idea about anything he had gone through and, just like everyone else, she did not hold any hope. But she should have.

"My condolences."

Vanessa heard him sigh before the heavy silence between them returned again. 'Say it, Vanessa!', she urged herself, 'Say you're sorry for not believing in him!'

"...I guess I'll leave you to finish your work. We can talk later if you wish. Good night, Vanessa."

His steps faded further away and her cursed freed her. Vanessa turned around, seeing that what he was wearing was not armour. It seemed glued to his arms and legs as if it were part of them. The orange glow let through the heat of molten steel, dimmed from her senses by what she assumed to be magic of some sort. She reached out as he turned to close the door behind him and he stopped. Lento went back where she was, only a step in front of her. She lowered her gaze, her lips frozen under the weight of an invisible cross. She dropped the hand that was reaching out for him and, to her surprise, he caught it within his. Despite the foreign, polished metal that covered it, his grasp was as warm as any other hand. There was no difference.

Slowly, softly, she found the strength to clasp his hand back. Then, she lifted her head and took a good look at his face. He seemed a bit older than his twenty one, but not by much. Although his obsidian gaze was tired, the smile he offered her warmed his expression. The patch of red hair that covered his right ear was so similar to the fire burning within his armour Vanessa supposed that his new weapon had caused it. He was here, alive and well, clasping her hand, melting away her mutism. She tried to smile for their reunion, but her eyebrows and her mouth curved the wrong way and, as it had become her habit, the only things that came to her mind were the words she had tried to say before.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I assumed so fast that you had...that you had..."

"Don't worry about it, Like I said-"

"Every woman hopes until the last moment. I gave up."

Ever since her recovery, not so many tears could dwell on her eyes, her scars made her feel her temples were being torn apart but her guilt went beyond the pain. It even embraced it. Inadvertently, she leaned closer to him, the pain starting to cover her sight with blue spots all around. Lento held her in an embrace and, as she closed her eyes, the pain seemed to get a bit more tolerable. She was not going to faint this time. But, at the same time, this was something she did not deserve. Even so, she succumbed to the temptation of returning Lento's embrace.

"Keeping hope alive no matter what is impossible, Vanessa. I understand that all too well. That's why, when we find it again, it's all the more wonderful, don't you think so?"

Vanessa found nothing to answer, only burying her head in his chest. And she was grateful Lento did not end their embrace until her few tears dried. This was perhaps the first time when, after having cried, she did not feel ashamed of it. She slowly stepped back, undoing their hug, but their hands remained tangled with each other. The guilt was not completely gone, but she had found the answer to what Lento had asked.

"Perhaps, but I don't want this hope to fade again. Can you promise me you'll make it here too? I want us to survive together."

His eyes widened for an instant. Lento's surprise soon transformed into the tranquil joy of love.

"I want that too, Vanessa. I came here to make sure we do."

* * *

The battles to retake Velder were far from easy, but with Lento's and Edan's knowledge on demonic weaponry and tactics, the Centurion Guard saw its first victories. The adventurers were all exceptionally skilled with their weapons. The forest elf even knew how to treat wounds on the battlefield and her spiritual magic was as efficient as ten battle medics. Vanessa could not help but be amazed by Lento's superhuman strength and the flames he sometimes summoned from his arms. But he mostly kept his strange obsidian blade ablaze instead, even if its attacks were weaker than those he could summon from his body. When she asked him about it, he told her that his armour, so to speak, was made out of Nasod technology. And using it too much would leave burns underneath. He had never experienced it himself, but he trusted the warning that Eve, the silver-haired adventurer, had given him.

Retaking Residential Area 3 felt like they had won the war, but they could not press on. Their forces were exhausted and the farmers were barely half-way on replenishing the food reserves. While the neighbourhood itself was in ruins, the old vanguard refuge offered the warmth the people yearned for in the snowless winters. Surprisingly, the barracks of the Centurion Guard had been mostly spared. The highest-ranked officers and half of the troops had now a very dusty roof to live under, but a roof nonetheless. After half a day of cleaning, the building was more comfortable than the vanguard's underground refuge, but not by much.

When she returned to her office, Vanessa noticed that most of it had not moved. The flask of ink was still next to her quill, although by now, the ink had dried for sure. The paperwork she had left stranded when the evacuation bells rang had been shredded by claws and the same marks were now carved on her chair and desk. She looked to her right and while most of her books were gone, the orb was still in the corner, covered by a white cloth greyed by the dust and ashes that entered through the broken windowpane.

She took it and slowly slid the cloth off it, lifting the smallest cloud of dust she could. The orb no longer had the lilac hue that identified it as a communication orb. The small El shard at its centre was barely glowing as well. It was too weak to be recharged any time soon, but she thought about giving it another use, now that the battles would be more sparse. Vanessa stepped out of her office and, as she walked down the corridors, one of the adventurers called her. It was Rena, the forest Elf.

"Captain Lang," the Grand Archer began, "There's been demons roaming closer to us through the passage leading to the Hope Bridge. I shot them down with some of the archers on the wall."

The blue-haired captain nodded, putting the orb in her side pocket, "Good job, Rena. Were they scouts?"

The blonde elf shook her head, her hair waving slightly over her back, "They were glitter lancers. Too heavily armoured to be scouts. I believe they were at sea recently."

"At sea? Do you think their ship is going to take through the canals?"

"I don't think so. They were wounded. Burned, actually. I think someone else took down their ship."

The news startled her. The grasp the demons held was far stronger than she thought. Or at least, they had attempted to extinguish their fight by a pincer attack. Vanessa furrowed her eyebrows, looking down as every possibility, route and memorized data of military allies ran through her mind. Finally, she gave Rena her answer.

"Tell captains Oscurità, Miekka, Evans, commander Sieghardt, generals Asini and Davila to meet me two hours after sunset tomorrow."

"Uhm...which generals?"

"Oh," Vanessa adjusted her glasses, "Sorry, I forgot they did not tell you their full names. It's Lento and Edan."

"Ah, I see. May I ask why they kept the secret?"

Vanessa took a breath in, pressing her lips before replying, "Long story short, there's a lot of resentment between some nobles and the Cronwells. I know he's your companion, but it's a good thing he didn't come here."

Rena nodded gravely, "I understand. He did mention something like that before," her eyes trailed off into the dawn of twilight painted across the broken window behind her and she turned around, "I'll deliver the message right away. Will you meet here?"

"Tell them to meet me in the Hexagon. They know where it is."

"Roger that."

* * *

The evening came sooner than she had hoped and although the rest of her day had been fairly calm, she was a little over the edge when she headed down the hidden passages to the Hexagon. While the name and its relative secrecy made it seem like some sort of spacious secret base, the Hexagon was rather one big meeting room only used when the city was in grave danger. For that reason, it was underground and its walls were rumoured to be as thick as half a block. Vanessa had never been one to like tight, underground spaces like the Hexagon, but it was better to discuss things there than being overheard by demon scouts outside. The only downside, for now, was that their communications with the outside were not as fast as they had been. Demonic magic still permeated the air, making it harder for magic powered by the El, such as the one communication orbs used, to travel fast. With her heart racing as she finally reached the only door at the end of the narrow corridor, Vanessa opened the door to find a much more spacious room, where a forgotten fireplace lit up the room from right to left with big El Shards rather than fire.

Chandeliers of the same mineral hung over the ceiling, leaving the shadow of the large, oval table at the centre and the nine chairs around it as slim as possible. The stark contrast between the dimness of the corridor and this formed stains of blue and green dance painfully over her vision for a couple of seconds, but she soon got used to it. With a deep breath, she sat down and tried as best as she could to focus on something else instead of reminding herself she was more than six feet under and alone. Once she realized simply telling herself to not think about it did not work, she took out the orb she had tried to transform into something useful again. For all her lessons in arts and crafts, Vanessa soon noticed her skills were far more than rusty. Working with magically-enhanced glass was tougher than what she remembered.

Gathering the mana to distance and hold the shards a certain way was not very hard, but she had to remember what she wanted the orb to look like from memory. The focus on her task soothed her heart and her mind went back to thinking about her current situation as she placed one shard upwards, then the other to the left and third to the right. There was much less work to do, given that they had retaken most of the farmland from the demons. If anything, the next battles would be more of a siege against the enemy than a battle. Demons might not die as easily of cold, but, according to Lento, they were much more likely to die of hunger. That superhuman strength of theirs was tough to maintain. Mutiny for food was more likely and so would be desperate attacks. But first, they had to figure out who exactly had taken out the demon ship near the port. Lento was the first one to get there and saw her adjust the El shards within to line up exactly like the Northern Light constellation.

"The fifth star is a little too to the right," he noted as he sat to her right. She raised an eyebrow and turned the orb around in her hand and under a certain angle, the constellation seemed off. Exactly where Lento had pointed out.

Vanessa clicked her tongue and muttered a soft mana flow spell to drag the shard from within just enough. But now it was too far to the left. She sighed, leaning on Lento's shoulder, "This is why I couldn't be a mage. I can't even make a night-light."

"You'll get it eventually, don't worry."

She smiled, "Oh, I don't plan on giving up. "Once we-"

She felt his hand slide towards her shoulder, but the door to the underground bunker known as the Hexagon opened again. They both withdrew and Vanessa hid the orb again. Edan Davila scoffed at them and sat to Lento's right.

"I'm not your chaperone. As Valak would have said it: good job, kiddo. Now, propose or perish."

Vanessa cleared her throat loudly, her cheeks growing pink, "Don't misunderstand, general Davila."

Perhaps she had said so too loudly because as soon as Lowe Miekka and Grail Evans showed up, they both asked what was all the misunderstanding about. Lento calmly dismissed their concerns, "Just a poorly timed joke, it's nothing about the war, right captain Lang?"

She nodded and quickly regained her composure looking at the door when Speka and Elesis, the two missing members of the meeting entered. Vanessa told them what Rena had seen, her speculations and soon turned towards Lowe, the head of the guard on the Wall and commander of Ruben's El Search Party, to confirm the reports and add anything else he might have seen.

"Well, captain, I did send a letter to one of my contacts in the Senacian army, warning them of incoming invaders. I received a letter from him today. I think it's very likely the ship he sank in Resiam's Bay was the one the spearmen came from."

Edan raised an eyebrow, "Could the Senacian marine help us immediately?"

Lowe shook his head, "I'm afraid not. But maybe that can change depending on what commander Sieghardt has to say."

Elesis frowned, stretching on her chair before she delivered the bad news, "I'm afraid it is far too risky for the Red Knights and the other military companies in Senace. My right-hand, Penensio, has caught two demonic spies already within Hamel. We are the next target and we need to defend ourselves batter."

Lento, to her surprise, was the first one to interject with a question, "Who are those spies and when did your right hand capture them?"

Elesis squinted at him, "I don't see that being too relevant with the situation at hand, general."

"Oh, but it certainly is. The War Council as a whole vanished and so did the Royal family almost two years ago. I think you ought to at least inform us so we can perhaps have a clue of where the head of this nation can be."

The red-haired girl slowly nodded, "Fair enough. One was called Ran, the other one...he said he was Fermont."

Grail raised an eyebrow, "Fermont, you say?"

Everyone's eyes darkened. They knew who that family was. Or rather, they knew who had reclaimed that title as he conquered the ranks of nobility like a tidal wave.

"Yes. As far as I know, it's only a symbolic title."

Speka looked to the side, her lips tensed up, "That's a horrible way to hide... Commander Sieghardt, can you tell your right-hand to extradite Sir Fermont here? We need to question him."

Elesis straightened up in her chair, frowning at the preposterous demand she had just heard, "You better explain yourself before asking something like that."

"Commander, you've journeyed with Raven Cronwell, correct?" Vanessa asked.

"He doesn't say a word about his past here, if that's what you're going for."

"I see. Well, just so you know, the title of Count of Fermont is given to the leader of the Royal Guard. It should be only a symbolic title, but Owen Felford, the last Count of Fermont, changed that a lot."

Edan added something that only made the mood grimmer, "Two years ago, my men saw soldiers with the Felford armouries help the demons. Giving them maps and incantations to enter through secret passages to the temples and Feita's vanguard. Commander, we need your word on this."

Lowe frowned, "Hold on, general. Those are serious accusations. Are you sure that-"

"General Valak De Couvertin and Noah Klaki died bringing to me the proof of Owen Felford's betrayal."

Edan got a magic orb from his side pocket and made it roll to the centre of the table, where it locked down and absorbed part of the energy and light of the El Shards around them. Images of maps in Elrian and translations to a runic language unlike anything they had seen appeared as projections of light. All the translations had the seal of the Felfords on the right corner.

Speka's eyes widened, "those are demonic runes for sure. Angkor can read them. The general is telling the truth."

Vanessa could not believe her ears, but deep down, she knew this was something that Owen Felford would do, "You may close that, general. What we need to focus on right now is retaking the fortress. Then, we will give those traitors the rightful punishment. With your consent, commander Sieghardt."

The Blazing Heart clenched her fist over the table, sparks of fire briefly lighting up around her knuckles, "I don't have a reason to refuse. I will do everything to bring him to you."

The meeting continued for another hour and a half, the seven military leaders made their final plan to liberate Velder and bring justice to the man who had, through and through, made a farce out of the righteousness of the Centurion Guard.

* * *

Velder Capital - 4 years after the Liberation of Residential Area 3

The war had been far longer than what anyone had expected, only truly coming to an end six months ago. Velder had to still rebuild from its ruins, but people were hopeful about the future. Because, unlike the aftermath of the Civil War, true justice would be served instead of tyranny. Clocktower Square was already crowded, soldiers and civilians alike almost chanting at the prisoner that would be executed at noon. Vanessa was selected as the one to list Owen Felford's many crimes and order the executioners to let the blade of their enchanted swords fall over Owen Felford's neck. The man might have gotten the entire royal family killed and be behind the demon's capture of the Earth Priestess, but he was still a knight. His execution had to be by beheading instead of hanging or drowning.

The bells of the first reconstructed cathedral rang, Lento and a few other high-ranking generals made their way through the crowd to be in the first row and, among them, was an almost unrecognizable Raven Cronwell. The white hair and mutated arm made him almost look like a complete stranger. But no one but him had that unique golden gaze. A black carriage made its way from the southern streets, guarded from the crowd by soldiers. The chanting of the crowd got louder, but the nobles in the first row kept silent, their hatred seething through a cold glare as Owen Felford was pulled out of his carriage. The white-haired man stumbled and fell, the iron chains that tied his feet and hands making it almost impossible for him to get up again. His long stay in both Hamel's and Velder's dungeons had thinned out his physique.

Vanessa looked at him and saw no difference between a corpse and him. Owen's and Raven's gazes met and the albino smirked briefly as the executioners got him back on his feet and forced him to kneel in front of the stone where he would soon lay his neck on. The square was now completely silent, only mocked by crows. Vanessa unfolded the scroll and pronounced the man's sentence, leaving him a minute to say his final words. Owen's tired gaze got fixed on Raven again and he chuckled.

"You understand now how good it feels to take everything away from a man, right, Raven? Take a good look when my head goes rolling and you'll know what I mean. You'll understand why it was so satisfying to bring you down."

Raven frowned but did to say a word. The executioners pushed Owen down and two slashes later, the traitorous noble was no more. Vanessa glanced at his severed head and looked quickly away. The head of a dead man could not smile as if he had enjoyed the pain. She took quickly her leave from the spotlight, making her way back to the reconstructed barracks, soon noticing that Lento was behind her.

She stopped and turned around, offering him a weak smile that did little to tone down the worry in his gaze. He walked up to her side and she subtly reached for his hand. Both of their hands were adorned with a silver ring, although they had not quite made their union official in the eyes of the Church.

"What's wrong, Vanessa?"

"I had a feeling I should have come up with an excuse to not attend. It's just," she sighed, "I guess knowing he willingly caused everything we had to go through made me imagine things."

She clasped his hand, walking slowly down the almost ghost-like part of town that led to their home. Once they were in front of the door, Lento came to face her and lifted her chin gently to leave a kiss on her lips.

"I'm sorry. I should've insisted more on everyone else to leave you out of this."

Vanessa smirked and searched for her keys, "We both know it isn't that simple anymore. Your voice is one vote and even if you convinced Speka and Edan, there are still four more voices who don't fully accept my early retirement. Unfortunately for them, I like my new occupation better."

The door opened dryly, unveiling an entrance of tiles and a main room four steps from there, where a girl of three was playing with the Northern Constellation orb, making it roll softly left and right. She had straight navy-blue hair held by a white ribbon and her dress matched her light blue eyes. The girl left her game as soon as she saw the door open and came rushing into her mother's arms.

Vanessa lifted her up and greeted her daughter, "Mommy's sorry she was gone for so long, Elisa. But daddy's back too!"

Elisa looked over her mother's shoulder and smiled at her father, her little arms trying to reach out to him. Vanessa turned towards Lento and he took his daughter in his arms before letting her sit on her favourite spot: his neck. As was her habit, she reached out and touched the ceiling, tapping the wood with her fists. "

You grew up so much, Elisa, I swear yesterday you were this big," Lento said, looking up and reaching out to show her a minimal space of an inch between his thumb and his index. Elisa giggled, enjoying the light jog Lento kept to make a tour of their home while Vanessa finished preparing their lunch.

She enjoyed peaceful days like this. Much more than she said she would enjoy either the endless routine of the army or the lavish life she could have had by marrying a powerful noble regardless of how she felt. In a way, she had reconciled the two parts of her. Something she would have thought to be impossible back in those days.

Hope had always come back to her, shining the brightest like the Northern Light Constellation.

**Author's Note:**

> oooof...I almost made it to the 20k mark. And I wish I had more time to do so, but midterms are coming really fast and this is my last piece of writing until April at least. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it and leave me a comment if you wish to! I'd love to hear your thoughts.


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